Find the Best Gifts for MomJust Two Things to Know

Shopping for the best gifts for Mom doesn't have to be difficult and doesn't have to be expensive. There's just two things you need to be clear about:

How much do you want to spend?

What do you want your gift to communicate?

The first question is easy to answer because you probably have a
ball-park figure in your mind already. I mean, you weren't going to buy
her a Porsche, were you?

Unconsciously, it's the answer to the second question that's been slowing you down.

In your mind you may have been kicking possibilities around . . . a mug (no way), a cappuccino machine (she'd think its a waste of money), a cruise (are you kidding me?).

Nothing seems right...if it did you wouldn't be here. Intuitively you've known that any ideas that you've had about the best gifts for Mom don't measure up. Somethings been missing, and I think it might be this:

A gift is like sending a message - it's a communication - and you aren't clear about what you want your gift to say.

A gift expresses your thoughts and feelings about the recipient.

So - bottom line - what do you want to say to your mother?

When you were a kid it was easy. It was, "I love you, Mom!" You knew from the bottom of your heart, from the tips of your toes that you loved her and nothing got in the way of the expression of that love. When you cut and pasted the construction paper cards or fashioned a Christmas tree decoration, that was your message. "I love you, Mom!"

Has that changed? Now that you're grown up do you really want to say something else?

Do the best gifts for Mom have to be purchased?

Does it even have to be a physical object? Will the bottom fall out of your mother's world if you give your time and your talents instead of a purchased gift?

I'm just suggesting that you look for a creative way to say I love you. Here's one for the books:

Years ago I worked for an oil company in downtown Calgary. My boss, Glenda, was a bit of a tyrant but she came up with the best birthday gift for her mother I've ever come across.

When I knew Glenda her mom was in her early '70's. She'd come of age
during WWII, a time when women began walking out of the kitchen.
Evidently she'd always expressed a regret that she'd never had the
opportunity to learn to fly.

For her mother's 75th birthday
Glenda gave her a flying lesson. Just a single flight in a dual
controlled aircraft that flew for a half hour over the city. She got to
take over the controls and was quoted as saying, "I had the time of my
life!"

But not all mothers want to learn to fly . . .

For some families the tried and the true works best. If you don't have the time, the inclination or the talent to come up with an inventive homemade gift, naturally, it's fine to go shopping, too.